Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume II, Part 119

Author: Hayden, Horace Edwin, 1837-1917; Hand, Alfred, 1835-; Jordan, John W. (John Woolf), 1840-1921; Lewis Publishing Company
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: New York, Chicago, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 1026

USA > Pennsylvania > Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume II > Part 119
USA > Wyoming > Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume II > Part 119

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

George J. Llewellyn, second child of James Llewellyn and his wife, Mary Evans, was born in Pembrokeshire, Wales, September 24, 1856, and was abont thirteen years old when he came with his parents to America and settled in Pittston, Pennsylvania. His early education was acquired partly in Pembrokeshire and partly in Pittston, and upon attaining his majority he associated with his father in contracting and building enterprises. In 1886 he became proprietor of a mercantile bus- iness in Pittston, as hardware dealer, plumber, and tinner, which he continued until January, 1895, when he sold out. In the fall of 1894 he was elected prothonotary of Luzerne county for a term of three years; and in 1896, in connection with his official duties, he became a law student under the preceptorship of John T. Lenahan, of Wilkes-Barre. In June, 1902, he was admitted to practice, and in the spring of the next year be- came partner with Judge Troutman, who was one of the board before whom Mr .. Llewellyn was, with thirty-five other young legal aspirants, ar- raigned and examined before admission to the bar under the requirements of the rules of the courts ; and it may be stated in this connection that, of the class of thirty-six presented for ex- amination at that time, only six were successful, and of the fortunate half-dozen George J. Llew- ellyn's name was among the first in standing and proficiency. He served as deputy internal rev- enue collector from 1898 to 1901, when he was appointed warden of the Luzerne county prison, and served in that capacity a little more than two years. Politically Mr. Llewellyn is a Republican, firm in his allegiance to his party, and one of the most active and effective exponents of its princi- ples in northeastern Pennsylvania. For eight years he acceptably filled the office of secretary of the State League of Republican Clubs, and in September, 1904, was elected first vice-president. During a period of twelve years he did not fail to attend every national convention of that body, and was a delegate in five successive years ; was secretary of the committee which gave the dinner to Senator Penrose in 1897, and of that which gave the dinner to Senator Quay in 1902. He is a member of the Union Republican Club of Philadelphia, and his name and influence in his party councils extend throughout Pennsylvania. For twenty-five years he has been a member of the volunteer fire department of Pittston, of which he was chief for two terms, and in which he is a life member. He was one of the organ- izers of Company C, (of Pittston), Ninth Regi- ment, National Guard Pennsylvania, Colonel Reynolds. He is a member of Pittston Lodge,

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Knights of Pythias : Pittston Lodge, Order of Elks ; Wilkes-Barre Aerie, Order of Eagles ; and of the Wilkes-Barre Press Club.

Mr. Llewellyn married, October 10, 1879, Mary A. Williams, daughter of the late Rev. Samuel Williams, of Wilkes-Barre, and has two children : Mary G. and Samuel, H. E. H.

GEORGE J. HARTMAN, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, was born January 24, 1862, at Mil- lersburg, Dauphin county, Pennsylvania. The family is of German origin and was founded in this country by Hartman, who settled in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, being among those who suffered the hardships and privations incident to the settlement and development of the state during the early period of its history. Among his children was a son, John Hartman, born in Bucks County. 1757, enlisted in Jonathan Ludwig's company, August, 1776, and in Step- hen Crummin's company, July, 1777, took up his residence in Columbia county, Pennsylvania, about 1800, and was married to Susan Shortly. George Hartman, son of John and Susan (Shortly) Hartman, married Margaret Fox, and among their children was a son, James Hartman, whose birth occurred in Columbia county, Penn- sylvania. April 11. 1819; he married Sarah Pot- ter, born in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, No- vember 4, 1820. After a long and useful life James Hartman died at his home in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, 1890.

George J. Hartman, son of James and Sarah (Potter) Hartman, was educated in the public schools of Millersburg, his native town, and Sun- bury, whither his parents subsequently removed. He served two terms in the state legislature of Pennsylvania during the years 1901 and 1903, representing the city of Wilkes-Barre, and was also a member of the Louisiana Purchase Expo- sition Committee of Pennsylvania. He is a mem- ber of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, a Repub- lican in politics, and a member of Lodge No. 61. Free and Accepted Masons, the Patriotic Order Sons of America, and the Junior Order United American Mechanics. Mr. Hartman married, October 5.1887, at Buckhorn, Columbia county, Pennsylvania, Sadie Moore. daughter of Mat- hias and Catherine Moore. They are the parents of one child, George Morrison Hartman, born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, February II, 1890. H. E. H.

COLONEL JACOB DAVIDSON LACIAR. Jacob Henry Laciar, Sr., a native of Lorraine, a province of France, visited the United States

early in the Ninteenth Century, but returned to France, where he died. He was an officer in the French army under Napoleon Bonaparte and a participant in the Moscow campaign.

Jacob Henry Laciar, Jr., son of Jacob Henry Laciar, Sr., also born in Lorraine, France, came to the United States about 1820 and settled in what is now the Lehigh Valley, where he died, 1845. He married in 1827, Susanna Garnet Diehl, of Swiss and French descent, born 1805, died near Bethlehem in 1897, aged ninety-two years. Mr. Laciar had been well educated in France, and was a civil engineer by profession and a teacher of mathematics. He had three sons : Charles Silas, Jacob Davidson, and Joseph.

Colonel Jacob Davidson Laciar, son of Jacob Henry and Susanna Garnet (Diehl) Laciar, was born near Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, August 31, 1839. He married, in Mauch Chunk, Carbon county, Pennsylvania, June 24, 1863, Sarah Cor- delia Line, daughter of Samuel and Martha (Cul- ver) Line, born in Luzerne county in 1842, died in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, June 10, 1905. Mr. Laciar was educated in the schools at Beth- lehem, and at an early age entered a printing office at that place, where he learned the trade of a printer. He leased the office of his employer in 1860, and commenced the publication of a weekly paper called The Lehigh Valley Times. Although he had just reached his majority (twenty-one years) he took an active part in the campaign of 1860, both as a writer and speaker, for the elec- tion of President Lincoln. He disposed of his interests in Bethlehem in 1861, and acquired an interest in The Mauch Chunk Gasette, then the only Republican paper published in Carbon county. He leased the office of this paper to other parties in 1862 for the purpose of entering the service of the United States. He enlisted in the Union army, August 15, 1862, as second lieu- tenant of Company F. One Hundred and Thirty- second Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer In- fantry. He was wounded at the battles of An- tietam. (Sharpsburg), Maryland, and Fredricks- burg. Virginia. He was promoted captain of his company. December 15. 1862, and was mustered out with his regiment with that rank in 1863. He re-enlisted in 1861 as captain of Company A. Two Hundred and Second Regiment, Pennsyl- vania Infantry, and was severely wounded near Thoroughfare Gan in a fight with Colonel Mos- by's command. He continued to serve until the surrender, of the Confederate States army. April 9. 1865, when he was sent with a battalion of his own regiment to Pittsburgh, and appointed to the command of the District of the Monongahela,

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Department of Pennsylvania, serving at the same time as post quartermaster and provost marshal of Pittsburgh. He held this position un- til August, 1865, when he was finally mustered out with his regiment at Harrisburg, Pennsyl- vania, with the brevet rank of lieutenant-colonel. At the same time he declined an appointment as captain in the regular United States army. He subsequently served on the staff of General John F. Hartranft, Governor of Pennsylvania, as aide- de-camp, with the rank of colonel.

Colonel Laciar resumed in 1865 the publica- tion of The Mauch Chunk Gasette, jointly with Captain John Richards Boyle, who later entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and as Rev. John Richards Boyle, D. D., will be remembered as for some years pastor of the First Methodist Church of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsyl- vania. The plant of the Gazette being destroyed by fire in 1868, Colonel Laciar disposed of what interest remained, and assumed in December, 1869, an editorial position on the Scranton Re- publican, which he retained, except during an in- terval of a few years, until 1896, when he ac- cepted the editorial chair of The Wilkes-Barre Record. This position he held until February I, 1905, when he resigned to accept the appoint- ment of postmaster of Wilkes-Barre by President Roosevelt. Colonel Laciar is an original com- panion of the first class of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, Com- mandery of Pennsylvania, and a comrade of the Grand Army of the Republic, Conyngham Post, Wilkes-Barre.

Mrs. Laciar's parents, Samuel and Martha (Culver) Line, respectively of Salem and Fair- mount townships, Luzerne county, came of old families who were among the early settlers of lower Luzerne county, and had numerous rep- resentatives in the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut Lines of the Revolutionary army. Mrs. Laciar was educated at Wyoming Seminary under the late Rev. Dr. Reuben Nelson. She was a woman of many noble attainments, and de- voted the later years of her life to some of the charitable and benevolent institutions of the city of Wilkes-Barre. She was an earnest church and Sunday school worker, and a member of the First Methodist Episcopal Church. Colonel and Mrs. Laciar had three children, born while residing at Mauch Chunk: Samuel Line, one of the editors of the Ladies' Home Journal, and en- gaged in literary work: William Hamilton, served as non-commissioned officer, U. S. Volun- teers, war with Spain, 1898, now connected with

the Fourth Streeet National Bank of Philadel- phia ; and Harriet Belford.

H. E. H.

WILLIAM DWIGHT WHITE, a prominent citizen and well established business man of Wilkes-Barre, was born in that city, November 12, 1849, a son of John and Melinda C. ( Black- man) White. His paternal grandfather, Daniel White, was a wheelwright by trade, and settled early in Wilkes-Barre, where he followed his avocation until his death. His children were Mary, Joseph, Ellen, Sarah, John, Charles, Dan- iel, Jane and Thomas. John, one of the sons of this family, was born in Doylestown, Pennsyl- vania, and followed the same occupation as did his father, removing to Wilkes-Barre in his boy- hood. His wife was a daughter of Henry Black- man, a pioneer settler of Hanover township, Lu- zerne county. Of this marriage were born three children who reached years of maturity: Will- iam D., Mary ( Mrs. Thomas C. Williams), and Charles B.

William D. White, eldest child of John and Melinda White, was reared in his native county and received an excellent education in the public schools, Harvey's Academy, and Wyoming Seminary at Kingston. He served an appren- ticeship of seven years to the drug business and came from its service an accomplished phar- macist. After serving as a clerk for some time he became manager of a drug store in Wilkes- Barre, and in 1884 engaged in the drug business on his own account, as head of the firm of W. D. White & Co., and in which he has continued with gratifying success to the present time. He is ac- tive in community affairs, and takes a full share in the advancement of its interests in material, religious and educational affairs. He is a mem- ber of the Central Methodist Episcopal Church,of Wilkes-Barre, and in politics is a Republican. He has been for many years prominent in Masonic circles. He was master of Coalville Lodge (Ash- ley), No. 474. in 1875, and of Landmark Lodge, No. 442, Wilkes-Barre, in 1892; high priest of Shekinah R .. A. Chapter, No. 182, in 1904; and a member of Dieu le Veut Commandery, Knights Templar, No. 45. Hc is a Noble of Irem Temple, A. A. O. N., Mystic Shrine, and has for the past fifteen years served as district deputy grand master of the Twelfth District of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Pennsylvania and the Li- zerne County Pharmaceutical Association, and of the Wyoming Historical and Geological So- ciety.

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February 9, 1872, Mr. White married Sarah A. Harper, a lady of English descent, and has had three children: Maude I., Edward R. and William Dwight, Jr.

H. E. H.

PHILLIPS FAMILY. The Phillips family of the branch under consideration here was among the early settlers in Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, but of Windsor county, Vermont, parentage, and of old New England stock. Jonas Phillips and his wife Mary Taylor were both born in Brattleboro, Vermont, and Jonas' father and Mary Taylor's father were soldiers of the Revolution, but whether of the independent Ver- mont soldiery or of the Massachusetts line is un- certain, for data relating to their services during that eventful period is meagre and indefinite. It is known, 'however, that on both sides the fam- ily dates back to the time of the colonies, and that the immigrant ancestors were of English birth and parentage.

Jonas Phillips, the pioneer of the family in Pennsylvania, was by trade a wheelwright and farmer and followed both occupations after his removal to Pennsylvania, about 1834. He settled on a farm in Susquehanna county, and lived there until I811, when he removed to Tunkhannock, Wyoming county, and lived with his son Edward until his death in 1876. He was a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and a Democrat in politics. The children of Jonas Phillips and wife Mary Taylor were: Henry H., deceased. Luther. a physician, surgeon in the army during the war of 1861-65 ; now residing in Buffalo, New York. Edward M., of Tunkhan- nock, Pennsylvania, agent of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, and for some years associate judge and justice of the peace. Albert H., of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Lyman E., of Tunk- hannock, Pennsylvania, a merchant.

Albert H. Phillips acquired his early educa- tion in the common schools, and his business edit- cation by actual experience and association with business men." In September, 1861, he entered the service as private, Company E, Ninth Penn- sylvania Cavalry, and was a corporal when at the end of a year he was discharged for disabilities contracted in the service. On his return home he found employment as clerk with merchants in Springville and Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania, and later on for nearly three years was junior partner in the firmn of Billings & Phillips, merchants at Tunkhannock. Still later he was in business alone, but in 1876 he sold out his interests in Wyoming county and removed to Wilkes-Barre,

Pennsylvania. and for a time acted as solicitor for the North Pennsylvania Railway Company. After three years he became partner with John T. Wood and J. G. Miller, and for two years oper- ated a paper mill. In 1888 he began a real estate business in Wilkes-Barre, his present occupation.

Mr. Phillips married, June 22, 1876, Kate Brownscombe, daughter of Rev. Henry Browns- combe, who at one time was presiding eller of the Wilkes-Barre district of the Wyoming con- ference. Mrs. Phillips died June, 1879, leav- ing no children. In 1881 Mr. Phillips married Alice E. Carpenter, daughter of Benjamin Sam- uel Carpenter and wife Nancy Gardner. (See Carpenter Family ). Children: Arline, born Au- gust 12, 1884, attended Wyoming Seminary, Kingston, Pennsylvania. Mary Derr, born No- vember 12, 1887, attending the Armitage school. Wayne, Pennsylvania. Louise Carpenter, de- ceased.

RYMAN FAMILY. The Ryman family, a branch of which has had representatives who have been prominent factors in the civil and in- dustrial history of Luzerne county for almost a century, came to America about 1750. In Europe the Rymans lived chiefly in Prussia, the ancestor of the branch under discussion here spelling his name Reiman. He lived near Warmbrum, Leig- nitz, province of Silesia, and it was one of his direct descendants who was the first of the fam- ily to come to America.

(I) George Ryman, the founder of this branch of the Ryman family in the United States, canie about 1750, and settled near Easton, New Jersey. The Rymans were a numerous family in early Dallas history, and performed their parts well and faithfully in the many avocations they chose, to make their own. George Ryman mar- ried Kate Motley, and their children were : Peter, of whom later ; John ; Jacob ; Kate.

(II) Peter Ryman, eldest son and child of George ( I) and Kate ( Motley) Ryman, was born in New Jersey in 1776. He removed near Hope, Warren county, New Jersey, and there his four eldest children were born. He married, in New Jersey, Mary Sweazy. born 1780, daughter of Richard Sweazy. Children of Peter and Mary Ryman : John, Joseph, Peter and Eliza : these four were born near Hope, New Jersey; Peter then went with his family to Dallas, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, in 1814. and settled there, and in that town the two younger children were born : Abram. of whom later ; and Richard.

(III) Abram Ryman, fifth child and fourth son of Peter (2) and Mary (Sweazy) Ryman,

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was born in Dallas, Luzerne county, Pennsyl- vania, August 21, 1817. He lived all his days on the homestead farm, where he was born, but made it an exceedingly active life. He began his business career as a farmer on a practical basis, and combined this with the business of a lum- berman, clearing and cultivating large tracts of land in and near Dallas. He opened a general country store in Dallas in 1854, and founded the firm of A. Ryman & Sons, of Dallas and Wilkes- Barre. Previously, in 1845, he had established and operated lumber mills and a lumber yard, both of which are still in active operation. the bus- iness being carried on by Mr. Ryman's sons on the lines along which he had inaugurated it. This firm is considered among the largest lumber deal- ers in the county. In Dallas the business is also carried on under the old firm name, although since the death of Mr. Ryman it is conducted solely by the sons. Mr. Ryman died December 17, 1873. He married Jemima Kunkle, born Sep- tember 7, 1808, died May 7, 1858, daughter of Philip Kunkle and Mary La Bar. Mr. Ryman was three times married, his first wife bearing him seven children: 1. Mary E., married C. M. Maxwell, of New York City. 2. Theodore F., who resides in Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne county, Penn- sylvania. 3. William Penn, born August 23. 1847, died July 31, 1899. 4. Sarah Adelaide, born No- vember 5, 1849, died November 25. 1856. 5. John Jacob, of whom later. 6. Ruth E., born June 9, 1855. died August 16, 1899. 7. Frederick S .. born May, 1858, resides now in Boston. Bv his third wife Mr. Ryman had one child, Leslie S.

John J. Ryman has been twice married, first, October 6, 1875, to Mary Atwater, formerly of Providence, later of Pittston, Pennsylvania. By this marriage there were two children : Edith L., who married, September 7. 1905, Albert G. Stone, of Ithaca. New York ; and Edna Marian. Mrs. Ryman died December 23, 1885. Mr. Ryman married (second) October 20, 1888, Jessie Lynde, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, daughter of E. C. Lynde of that city, and by this marriage there is one child. Lynde Hunter Ryman.

JAMES BROOKS, M. D. A representa- tive of a well-known family of physicians, Dr. James Brooks, of Plains, possesses by inheritance the natural intuition as well as the various other califications necessary for the successful prac- tice of the healing art, and in surgery, to which he prefers to devote his principal attention, he has acquired a high reputation.

James Brooks, M. D., was born in Great Bend, Susquehanna county, New York, July 4,

1856, son of Dr. James and Lydia Jane (De Bois) Brooks. His paternal ancestors were English and Scotch, while those on the maternal side were French.

Dr. Pelatiah B. Brooks, his grandfather, was a native of New York state, practiced medicine in Norwich, New York. Dr. Pelatiah B. Brooks married a Miss MeCullough and his children were : 1. Lydia, married George Clinton, of New- ark Valley, Tioga county, New York, and had three children, namely : Morris, Sarah and Carrie, the last-named of whom is the wife of Dr. Amos A, Barton, of Plains, who is the subject of a sketch which appears elsewhere in this work. 2. James, of whom later. 3. Pelatiah became a medical practitioner, died in Chattanooga, Ten- nessee, while serving as a surgeon in the United States army. 4. Hannah became the wife of Jo- seph Cushing, of Binghamton, New York, and had Mary, who married L. L. Rogers, the sub- ject of another sketch in this work.

Dr. James Brooks, Sr., was born in Norwich. He began the practice of medicine at Great Bend, from whence he removed to Binghamton, and he became prominently identified with the medi- cal profession of that city. He married Lydia Tane DeBois, daughter of Squire Abram and Juliette DeBois, of Great Bend, and of this union there were eight children, five of whom grew to maturity, namely. I. Walter A. Brooks, M. D., who became a successful specialist in opthalmol- ogy and otology in Binghamton, married Mary Gage and was the father of three children, name- ly : Earl, Walter and Lina. 2. Fanny. L. Brooks, married Ledra Taylor, of Binghamton, and has one son, Edward. 3. James, of whom later. 4. Hettie Brooks married William Butterfield, also of Binghamton, and has one son, Harry. 5. Pelatiah Brooks, the youngest son of Dr. James Brooks, Sr.'s children, is a druggist in New York City. He married Emma Wentzler, of Bing- hamton, and has one child.

Dr. James Brooks, Jr., studied in the public schools of Great Bend, then attended the Bing- hamton high school and subsequently Lowell's Commercial School. His professional training, which was begun at the Syracuse (New York) Medical College, where he remained two years, was completed at the Chicago Medical College, from which he was graduated M. D. with the class of 1877. He began the practice of medicine in Binghamton, from whence he went to Pleas- ant Valley, Pennsylvania, in 1878, and in the fol- lowing year removed to Plains, where he has practiced continuously to the present time. Dr. Brooks rapidly created and has ever since main-

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tained a large and profitable practice in both med- icine and surgery, but, as previously stated, he prefers the last-named department of his profes- sion, for which he is abundantly qualified. He is a member of the Pennsylvania State and the Lu- zerne County Medical Societies; was in 1887 chosen a delegate to the Ninth International Medical Congress, the first ever held in this coun- try. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Benevolent and Protec- tive Order of Elks. In politics he is a Republi- can. He has been twice married. He first mar- ried, January 5, 1881, Isadore W. Mitchell, daughter of John Mitchell, of Plains. On Sep- tember 17, 1898, he married (second) Ellen Evans, who was born in Plains, November 2, 1878. Her parents, Richard and Mary (Jones) Evans, who are well-known residents of Plains, have had a family of ten children, eight of whom are living. The children of Dr. Brooks' first mar- riage are: Mary Isabella, born December 17, 1881 : Fanny E., born July 17, 1883; Anna L., born September 2, 1885 ; married Charles Sawyer Bromley, in Germantown, Pennsylvania ; James A., born August 3, 1887; and Helen, born July 4, 1890. Of his second marriage there is one daughter, Margaret Louise, born April 3. 1901.

ENOCH W. MARPLE. Joseph Marple, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a member of the Society of Friends, was born July 31, 1786, died June 4. 1856. He married Phebe Lukens, born July 5. 1789, died July 29, 1865. They had a son, Robert Lukens Marple, born in Philadelphia, No- vember 3. 1818, died June 18, 1853, who married, about 1840, Mary Wright, born August 3, 1818, died March 22, 1899, daughter of Isaac Knight Wright, born August 23, 1794, and his wife, Elizabeth Childs, born August 26, 1797, died No- vember 14, 1856. They had Enoch Wright Marple.

Enoch Wright Marple, son of Robert Lukens and Mary (Wright) Marple, was born in Tren- ton, New Jersey, June 12, 1842. He was not a member of the Society of Friends by birth, both parents not being members. A few months after his birth the family moved to Philadelphia, and some years later moved to Pottsville, Pennsylva- nia, where his father engaged in the book binding and stationery business, at first with the late Ben- jamin Bannan, and afterward for himself, leav- ing Enoch W. in Philadelphia with his mother's parents, being the oldest grandchild. He lived all his earlier days in the old district of Southwark. Philadelphia, went to school at Wecacoe pri- mary, Southwark Library secondary, and Mt.

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Genealogical and family history of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania, Volume II, Part 119

Author: Hayden, Horace Edwin, 1837-1917; Hand, Alfred, 1835-; Jordan, John W. (John Woolf), 1840-1921; Lewis Publishing Company Publication date: 1906 Publisher: New York, Chicago, The Lewis publishing company Number of Pages: 1026

Author: Hayden, Horace Edwin, 1837-1917; Hand, Alfred, 1835-; Jordan, John W. (John Woolf), 1840-1921; Lewis Publishing Company
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: New York, Chicago, The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 1026